McFarland & Pecci MINIDOC: The Beatboxer

McFarland & Pecci create a stunning short piece promoting TV personality and inventor Nate Ball and his entrance into the 2012 American Beatbox Championships.

The 2012 American Beatbox Championships begin online video rounds in AprilFebruary 2012 – All you need is a microphone. Registration is now underway for the 2012 American Beatbox Championships, produced by the World Beatboxing Association. Beginning with online video rounds in April, beatboxers from around the country will vie for one of 16 top spots and a chance to compete for the crown of America’s Best Beatboxer in a live,“8 mile” style battle format in New York City in August.Judges for the 2011 final battle at Le Poisson Rouge included beatboxing legends Rahzel and Kenny Muhammad, with Rakaa of Dilated Peoples and drummer/producer Swiss Chris.A new entrant for the 2012 competition is TV personality and inventor Nate Ball. Ball is the host of the Emmy and Peabody award winning PBS show “Design Squad,” as well as an engineer, public speaker, and longtime musician and beatboxer. In 2011 Ball turned a scientific eye toward his beatboxing pursuits, using functional MRI and laryngoscopy to examine what’s behind the human body’s ability to beatbox. He presented the investigations live at the TEDMED conference in October 2011 in San Diego, CA, featured on CNN.com. Ball also attended the 2011 World Beatbox Championship Grand Final as a spectator, and said “After the show, I was blown away. The beatboxing was incredible, and the community was so strong. I knew right then that I wanted to bring my best and be a part of it for 2012.” To follow Ball and the other beatboxers as the video rounds begin, go to www.americanbeatboxchampionships.com.To achieve the beautifully dark look in this clip the filmmakers used homemade light and lens filters and shot it with Nikons D7000.